Cardin Winchester

Cardin Winchester is an attendee of Beacon Academy, and the leader of Team CRDL. He was first seen in the episode The First Step, in which he prepares to be launched into the Emerald Forest. In Players and Pieces, Cardin is made leader of Team CRDL.

Appearance
Cardin has burnt-orange hair that is combed backwards with a slight peak at the front and indigo eyes. He wears silver-gray armor with gold trim. The chest-plate sports a bird with its wings outstretched. Underneath the armor, he wears a black shirt with red trimmings and black pants with a red belt tied around his waist.

It should also be noted that Cardin is very tall. He stands at least a head above the rest of his teammates.

Personality
Cardin's personality can be compared to the classic stereotype of the "school bully". Such characters are often found in school dramas and teen movies. He enjoys hurting and picking on others for his and his team's own enjoyment. This is shown as his tormenting Velvet Scarlatina for being a Faunus, which could also reflect some prejudice and hate towards the humanoid species. He is also shown to be excessively picking on Jaune. In Jaunedice, Pt.2, Cardin further showed his racism and discrimination towards the Faunus by saying it is easier to train an animal than a soldier, which reflects on how he sees the Faunus as nothing but complete animals, which left Professor Oobleck disappointed.

Cardin has shown to get offended quite easily, such as when he clenched his fists in anger when Blake Belladonna commented on General Lagune's failure, which is how he will be remembered by. This may show that Cardin looked up to, or approved of General Lagune, or perhaps he was angered by Blake's remark about General Lagune not paying attention in class, a trait which he and Cardin have in common, being the cause of him being remembered as a failure. As of Episode 12, Cardin is shown to be quite manipulative, going as far as blackmailing Jaune in order to have Jaune do his work. Cardin himself has proven to be quite cunning, to which he called Jaune a friend, sarcastically, while stating he wouldn't reveal his secret. However, this may have been Cardin's way of getting Jaune to do everything for him, in return to not tell the secret, or a trick in fooling Jaune long enough until the secret is revealed. He may also seem to be very lazy, as his teammates are the same as well, in which they frequently asks favors, all being done by Jaune.

He is also shown to hold a grudge and may have a tendency to exact revenge on others by whatever means necessary, not caring what happens to the other. In episode 13 he requests, the night before the field trip, that Jaune get him some Rapier Wasps. He then has Jaune get him some extra tree sap while in the forest. He plans to use both of these to get revenge on Pyrrha for humiliating him in a class by answering a question he could not. This may also show that he has pleasure in hurting others, or having others hurt people they are close to.

Despite his ability as a Huntsman, Cardin appears to be cowardly, as he tried to run from the Ursa, where not even defending himself worked.

Abilities
As of Jaunedice, he is shown to be physically superior to Jaune during their battle, seeing as how he was able to overpower him easily and be able to swing his weapon one-handedly and disarm Jaune from his shield in one hit. His current weapon is a mace. However, he is overpowered by an Ursa in Forever Fall, Pt.2 while he was trying to escape it, and would have been killed by the Grimm if Jaune had not intervened.

Cardin is also rather opportunistic, as he quickly noticed an exploitable weak point to use as leverage on Jaune.

Trivia

 * The inspiration for Cardin's name is Henry Beaufort, the Bishop of Winchester and a cardinal, who presided over the trial of Joan of Arc (namesake of Jaune Arc) prior to her being burnt at the stake. Miles Luna has commented that the inspiration for Cardin's name comes from history, rather than stories, lending further credence to this allusion.
 * In Episode 13, Cardin's number is shown to be 1374-BEAUFORT. Henry Beaufort was born in 1374.
 * The Relics chosen by Team CRDL were the Black Bishop pieces.
 * In keeping with his team's bird-themed naming, his first name is likely also derived from the cardinal, an American bird species.
 * Cardin is the first member of Team CRDL to have his weapon revealed as of Episode 11.
 * Cardin was one of the first members of Team CRDL introduced in the series, alongside Russel.
 * Cardin is the only character so far to use vulgar language.
 * His armor resembles a paladin armor.